Dracula Triumphant Review
Thu, 6 Oct 2005, 04:24 pmWalter Plinge11 posts in thread
Dracula Triumphant Review
Thu, 6 Oct 2005, 04:24 pmThe Ocracy's latest production, Dracula Triumphant is now playing a limited season at the Theatre Royal in Sydney. Having attended opening night, I found the show to be a mixture of halves. The show is a contemporary reworking of the original Bram Stoker tale, which entwines itself with an unusual religious myth about Sebastian, the ill-fated saint. The production relies heavily on the minimilalist approach to theatre, with few props, no set changes and an odd use of the heavy stage curtain, which does little to aid in providing clarity for the audience, many of whom seemed baffled by the many twists and turns in the story. However, whilst the production values on stage are slightly questionable, there is much to be said about the majesty of composer Aaron Kernaghan's original music. Combined with powerhouse vocal performances from the four leads, the rock opera score was enormously textual, with the battle of good and evil graphically painted. Kernaghan's outstanding compositions seemed to envelop numerous themes, dancing a wonderfully exuberant dance with blinding flashes of elegant brilliance and seeming to channel influences from Meatloaf to Danny Elfman. Dracula Triumphant as a production is a night out which may leave you scratching your head about what your eyes witnessed, but leave you in no doubt about the fresh new musical talent that is Aaron Kernaghan; his music certainly the triumph in this show.
Re: Dracula Triumphant Review
Mon, 10 Oct 2005, 08:28 amWalter Plinge
What can one say about this 'show'? Where to begin?....
Well lets start with music considering its advertised Rock opera title - Unfortunately this productions music is far from rock opera infact it was hard to find a melody throughout the entire train wreck. The acting was minimal and the fact that half of the audience left (most started leaving during the first act) Is a testiment to how horrid this production was. And just when you thought it couldn't get worse the second act starts... Luckily at that point everyone in the audience figures out that they all feel the same about it (Thank God for the hilarious moments in the foyer watching family and friends decide whether or not to stay) the second act starts and the brave people dont hold back the laughter mostly during inappropriate moments of 'drama' Of course this wasnt helped by they terrible horn lines and out of tune strings that made you want to hold on tight to whatever you could just to get through it. Also unbearable were the high notes far out of reach of each performer belted out oh too painfully on the ears.
Not only was Dracula Triumphant imposible to understand, never has there been a bigger waste of money. Why this was produced at the Theatre Royal is beyond me. And the only thing that comes to mind from seeing this show is what else your money could be spent on and more inportantly - what were they thinking.
Well lets start with music considering its advertised Rock opera title - Unfortunately this productions music is far from rock opera infact it was hard to find a melody throughout the entire train wreck. The acting was minimal and the fact that half of the audience left (most started leaving during the first act) Is a testiment to how horrid this production was. And just when you thought it couldn't get worse the second act starts... Luckily at that point everyone in the audience figures out that they all feel the same about it (Thank God for the hilarious moments in the foyer watching family and friends decide whether or not to stay) the second act starts and the brave people dont hold back the laughter mostly during inappropriate moments of 'drama' Of course this wasnt helped by they terrible horn lines and out of tune strings that made you want to hold on tight to whatever you could just to get through it. Also unbearable were the high notes far out of reach of each performer belted out oh too painfully on the ears.
Not only was Dracula Triumphant imposible to understand, never has there been a bigger waste of money. Why this was produced at the Theatre Royal is beyond me. And the only thing that comes to mind from seeing this show is what else your money could be spent on and more inportantly - what were they thinking.